Macbee’s 1st Anniversary in Baguio

It was our 1st year anniversary and we decided to celebrate it in the City of Pines. I’ve been to Baguio several times. This place used to be my hiding place and when I want to escape and to be alone. But this time, the reason to be there was for celebration. This was hubbee’s first time in Baguio and he was quite excited at that time. He has heard of this place when he was in CDO before and was able to finally see the place.

We left in the middle of the night and took a bus at Victory Liner in Pasay City. Fare is P455.00/person and that’s 5-6 hours of land travel up north. We arrived at Baguio in the morning and the welcome of cool breeze was just so lovely. It was indeed a “welcome to baguio hubbee” moment. We then took a taxi, which is the most common mode of transportation in the city, going to our hotel.

Baguio is tagged as the country’s “Summer Capital”, north of Manila and situated in the heart of the province of Benguet. Baguio is 8 degrees cooler on any month on the average than any place in the lowlands. Baguio City’s invigorating climate and presence of cultural, historical, and scenic attractions makes the city an interesting destination for both foreigners and locals. Natural beauty make this a year round favorite desination.

After we checked-in, we immediately went out to have lunch. We were so hungry at that time so we went to Sizzling Plate Restaurant. As many people would say, if you happen to be in Baguio, it would be a sin not to visit Sizzling Plate Baguio. This local diner serves the most delectable dishes at very reasonable prices. At Sizzling Plate Baguio, every meal comes with the soup of the day. Order a plate of sizzling Aussie T-bone steak, and take a delightful bite.

After our lunch, we started touring around the city. We checked out the ukay-ukay stores but ended up buying one sunglass only. We then went to Burnham Park, the oldest park in Baguio and checked their mini carnival there that used to be the Skating Rink of the park. We visited also the park beside Burnham and just took some pictures. It was literally a walk in the park for us. Non-stop walk until we decided to go malling. And where else you will go but in SM Baguio.

SM Baguio is not as huge as what we have here in Manila but it has the same crowd. It’s always packed with locals and one thing that makes their SM stand out from all the SMs in the Philippines, they don’t have an air conditioner. Haha! That’s where we had our dinner and we watched a movie after. Then we went back to our hotel to get some rest. It was a long day of traveling for us.

The next day, we checked out the University of Baguio. It’s a few steps away from the Cathedral. Then we rode a taxi and proceeded to Malacanang or the “Mansion” in Baguio. This is the official (second) residence of the President of the Philippines. Since you cannot go inside, you can only take a picture outside. The design of the Mansion was patterned after that of London’s Buckingham Palace.

On the other side of the road is Wright Park. Just cross the road to go there. Another beautiful park in Baguio. It is sometimes mistakenly called “Ride Park” by some tourists that identify this pine tree park reserve for horse rides. A long stairway leads to the “Pool of the Pines”, a 100 meter long pool of water lined on both sides by the famous Baguio towering pine.

After a good stroll, we took another taxi and this time, going to another famous landmark in Baguio, the Mines View Park. Named for its view of Benguet’s mountain ranges where gold, silver and other ores were once quarried. That’s why in this place, you’d see a lot of stores where you can buy your “pasalubong”. They offer a wide range of Baguio products. This is where we also bought our Anniversary ring.

A few steps from Mines View Park is another tourist attraction mainly because they sell delicious products, the Good Shepherd Convent. It’s the nuns who makes their delicious pasalubong products. From the window of their store, they have a display of pictures of their products that includes the prices. There’s also a table that has small paper and pens which you will just write down your order. Once done, go inside, present your order, proceed to the cashier, pay, and you’ll get your order after. Then check out their small park on the side of the store.

Last stop was the Botanical Garden. Ride another taxi to go there. Local igorots will welcome you and will lure you to take a picture with them. Then they will ask for a tip. If you don’t give one, they will follow you and will keep on asking for their tip. Inside is another big and nice park. Another walk in the park for Macbee in our celebration of our anniversary. The place is also called the Igorot village, which features native huts typical of the Cordillera architecture. The garden is also a site of cultural presentations and some special tribal meetings.

Then we decided to have a quick rest and the best place to have that is the Starbucks in Camp John Hay. It’s another taxi ride getting inside CJH. The design of the Starbucks store is patterned also to Baguio’s culture. The place is frequently visited by the rich people in Baguio because of it’s isolated atmosphere. It’s a perfect scene for a relaxing afternoon having coffee, reading magazines and just having a relaxing day.

Then we went back to Session Road for a dinner and surprisingly, there was Razon’s restaurant in Baguio. That’s where we had our sumptuous Pampanga cuisine dinner and the famous halo-halo for dessert. We also went back to SM for a quick mall stroll after our dinner and enjoyed the city lights which you can view at the 3rd and 4th floor of the mall. Then we called it a night for our next day quick itinerary and return to Manila.

We woke up early again and had our breakfast. Then, we went to Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral to offer a thanksgiving prayer, one of the familiar landmark in the city. We normally do this when we travel. We visit churches and offer prayers. The Cathedral sits on a hill in the heart of the city and there are two ways to go the church. One is the easy way and the other one will require you to take 100 steps to be there. Then a short trip to the market for fresh vegetables then we left Baguio City going back to Manila.

– Baguio, Benguet was visited last October 2010

“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.”